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Abstract

Abstract

Good communication in multilingual healthcare settings is vital to delivering patient-centered care. This study investigated the communication experiences of physicians’ and patients at Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC), a public hospital in a multilingual city in the Philippines, focusing on the linguistic dynamics among Chabacano, Bisaya, and Tausug speakers during medical consultations. Employing a qualitative-ethnographic design, the study utilized direct observations to analyze interactions guided by the Calgary-Cambridge Model. The study showed that the physicians’ and patients’ communication experiences were marked by their multilingual reality through the use of translanguaging — a dynamic use of multiple languages — tailored to accomplish specific communicative tasks during consultations. Physicians and patients used translanguaging, regardless of whether they shared a common language, to facilitate better comprehension and engagement. The study highlights the critical need for integrating multilingual competencies into healthcare and recommends transforming health institutions such as ZCMC into a patient-centered space, by providing policies for inclusive communication. In doing so, health institutions can improve patient communication experiences, advancing health equity and universal healthcare goals in linguistically diverse regions.

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2026-01-13
2026-02-14

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/content/journals/10.1075/lcs.25011.man
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Breaking language barriers in healthcare
John Benjamins ; https://doi.org/10.1075/lcs.25011.man
/content/journals/10.1075/lcs.25011.man
/content/journals/10.1075/lcs.25011.man
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: health equity ; inclusive communication ; language barriers ; translanguaging ; healthcare communication ; multilingualism

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